Category: Network Document Solutions

On November 16th, Xerox announced two new workflow automation solutions for the insurance industry and HR departments, updated versions of two of their platforms (Digital Alternatives and DocuShare), and new components of their MPS strategy for the channel.

Adobe is certainly no stranger when it comes to creating technologies that assist businesses in becoming more digital. Not everything the company has tried has gone gangbusters, but its newest offering, Adobe Document Cloud, appears poised for success. Read more »

Xerox, a leader in document technology and services, today announced several new solutions and services that will add to their history of innovation. Xerox’s Large Enterprise Operations (LEO) is aligning its services offering by key vertical market to connect MPS & BPO. Read more »

Despite the proposed acquisition of Kofax by Lexmark, Kofax is going about business as usual with the recent announcement of a $2.4 million deal with a leading U.S. financial services firm. Just days ago, Kofax, a leading provider of smart process applications that simplify the business critical First Mile of information-intensive customer interactions, announced that an undisclosed leading U.S. bank has invested in Kofax TotalAgility to automate their banking operations including new customer onboarding, and loan application processing. Read more »

In what seems to be shaping up as an exciting year in document and information technology, late yesterday it was announced that Lexmark International would seek to acquire Kofax Ltd for approximately $11 a share, or $1 billion. Upon news of the agreement, Kofax shares spiked 36%. This is most certainly a disruptive move by Lexington, Kentucky-based Lexmark, and it positions them to be a “powerhouse” in intelligent capture and document processing while adding sophisticated platform capabilities for BPM.

Lexmark’s most recent acquisitions:

Lexmark’s acquisition spree kicked off in 2010, when the company acquired Kansas-based Perceptive Software (for a reported $280 million) with the goal of transitioning from a hardware-centric vendor to a solutions provider. Perceptive Software was a major provider of ECM software and solutions with specific strength in the higher education, healthcare and government sectors and its Image Now software platform offers a broad range of workflow solutions.

The marriage offered clear synergies for growth at a time when Lexmark’s revenue had slumped following the decline of the inkjet market. Lexmark’s subsequent exit from the inkjet business reaffirmed the importance of new revenues streams. Lexmark, with its global infrastructure of direct & indirect channel for printing hardware, was an excellent fit for Perceptive with its advanced software solutions and vertical expertise. Both came from positions of strength in the medium sized business sector reaching up to the enterprise.

Irvine California-based Kofax provides a diverse set of software and platform solutions for information intensive customer interactions. With $297 million in revenues reported in 2014, the company has direct sales operations in 30 countries and 850 channel partners working in 70 countries. Kofax has also made strategic acquisition investments in recent years. In February 2013, Kofax acquired Altosoft to add business intelligence and analytics, then shortly after in July they acquired Kapow for data analytics. In September 2014, Kofax further strengthened its capabilities by obtaining Softpro GmbH for e-signature and fraud detection.
The combination of solutions from Lexmark (with Perceptive) and Kofax for sophisticated capture, intelligent routing, data mining/analytics and other key business processes creates a very strong and comprehensive portfolio.

“The acquisition of Kofax enhances our best-in-class offerings so our customers can capture, manage, access, and act upon their information more efficiently, and extends Lexmark into the high-growth smart process applications market,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark chairman and chief executive officer. “Our customers will have a breadth of hardware and software solutions that connect their information silos and automate their business processes – enabling them to access the most relevant information at the moment they need it to drive business forward”.

“We believe joining forces with Lexmark benefits our customers, partners, employees and shareholders and the merger will build on Kofax’s rich history of continuous innovation,” said Reynolds C. Bish, chief executive officer, Kofax. “Our market-leading ability to simplify and transform the First Mile™ of customer engagement is a strong complement to Perceptive Software’s strength in managing information across silos. As a result, we’re excited about the future and working together to realize the full potential of this opportunity to the benefit of all stakeholders.”

The Kofax acquisition reflects Lexmark’s ever-growing emphasis on software (including enterprise content management, business process management, document output management, search, intelligent capture software, vertical-oriented solutions); other high value offerings like laser products and MPS; and creating synergies among all three. The Kofax pickup also provides Lexmark with strong end to end vertical industry solutions such as financial services, insurance and healthcare, thus providing a foothold in the entire document lifecycle. This is a significant move for Lexmark into software, considering a short time ago they were primarily print focused. This industry will continue to change and transform rapidly away from printed pages, and towards flexible, sophisticated solutions designed to solve business problems.

At Konica Minolta’s Art of Disruption Dealer meeting last month in Los Angeles, California, they discussed what they believe are the industry’s biggest trends, how Konica Minolta plans to transform their business through these evolutions, and what their dealers should do to evolve with them to continue to be successful. A core message at the conference was that of diversification through new technologies to “disrupt” the industry. Read more »

This year at the annual LegalTech show held Feb. 3-5at the New York City Hilton Midtown, over 100 exhibitors shared the tradeshow floor to demonstrate and display their robust technology geared to help law firms and legal professionals optimize their businesses and workflows. One of the most exciting announcements of the show was Ricoh’s newest offering that they are temporarily calling “Legal MFP”, a platform that can be used on select Ricoh MFP devices to improve end-user workflow while enhancing operational efficiencies, and lowering costs. Read more »

At its Second Anniversary Event, Canon Solutions America (CSA)unveiled the name change of its Business Services Division to Enterprise Managed Services Division (EMS). VP of Enterprise Services and Solutions, John Reilly, and VP of Managed Services, Valerie Belli, gave the presentation detailing the rebranded division.

So much has been written about the Cloud in recent years that it has begun to take on different meanings that are dependent upon the audience. To some, it’s an irreplaceable tool that makes life easier; to others, it’s a modern but somewhat mysterious form of technology; to still others, it’s simply confusing. Read more »